No arrests made in Rutland homicide

Wednesday

Jun 18, 2014 at 6:00 AMJun 18, 2014 at 12:30 PM

RUTLAND — At 124 East County Road, there were few signs Tuesday that a homicide had taken place inside the red and white house on a corner lot. At midday, a postal truck pulled up and the man inside tucked some mail into the dented mailbox at the end of the driveway where David J. Alan had lived what neighbors characterized as a solitary life.

By Kim Ring TELEGRAM & GAZETTE STAFF

RUTLAND — At 124 East County Road, there were few signs Tuesday that a homicide had taken place inside the red and white house on a corner lot.

The yellow crime scene tape that had marked the yard since Saturday was gone. There was no Rutland police cruiser parked nearby, no state troopers coming and going, no news trucks waiting for any new developments.

At midday, a postal truck pulled up and the man inside tucked some mail into the dented mailbox at the end of the driveway where David J. Alan had lived what neighbors characterized as a solitary life. A few newspapers sat, uncollected, in an adjacent post box, and a wheelbarrow stood in the back of the house.

Mr. Alan's body was found Saturday by police who had been summoned to his home to check on a missing person that morning.

There were no updates Tuesday from Worcester District Attorney Joseph D. Early Jr.'s office as state police detectives assigned there continued to work on the case. On Monday, a detective visited the Holden home of Mr. Alan's older brother, Michael S. Dowjat, although it was unclear whether Mr. Dowjat was at home.

Holden police logs show an ambulance was called to the Dowjat residence about 10:30 p.m. Sunday and one person was taken to the UMass Memorial Medical Center — University Campus in Worcester.

A spokesman for the hospital confirmed that Mr. Dowjat had been a patient and he was released Tuesday. No information was available about why he had been hospitalized.

Mr. Alan, described as quiet and reclusive, had few friends, neighbors said. His father lived with him until his death in 1993. Mr. Alan and his brother, Mr. Dowjat, appear to have had a contentious relationship several years ago. Though the two have different last names, court papers identify them as brothers.

The men, along with their father, were involved in probate court actions in the late 1980s and early 1990s over a $10,000 bond that Mr. Dowjat believed should be shared with him after the death of his mother.

At one point, the elder Mr. Dowjat and Mr. Alan both sought restraining orders against Mr. Dowjat, though those appear to have expired after a year.

Police in Rutland were familiar with Mr. Alan, who, according to the police log, was a frequent caller in 2009, though the number of times he summoned police dropped off significantly from 2010 to 2014. His property was posted with signs reading "Keep Out" and "Private Property." Some of the calls he made were about attempted break-ins, though the log did not indicate any arrests in those instances.